The terrorist attacks in Paris appear to have shifted public attitudes on both refugees and airstrikes. According to a new poll from the Times/YouGov, 20 per cent think we should accept more refugees — down 16 points from September — while almost half said we should accept fewer or none at all, which is a 22 point increase from September. Other factors may have played into this shift in opinion but what has happened in Paris will surely have played a big part in it.
The poll also reveals that the public backs the decision to to kill Mohammed Emwazi, aka Jihadi John, via a drone strike. 76 per cent said it was the right decision to kill Emwazi, compared to 11 per cent said it was wrong and 13 per cent were unsure. Interestingly, 64 per cent of people who voted Labour at the last election back to the decision to kill Emwazi — a different view from the party’s current leader Jeremy Corbyn, who said it would have been ‘far better’ if he had ended up in court.
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